Busways and ABB are continuing to work together to create electric infrastructure for a new wave of buses
Busways is preparing the way for a whole-of-fleet zero emission transformation after recently completing the installation of more dual outlet electric bus chargers from manufacturer ABB.
International delegates from ABB this week visited Busways’ Penrith depot to inspect the facility and new chargers, a mix of 120 and 180KW units that can each charge two electric buses at a time.
Busways zero emission bus and innovation manager Joe Kotevich welcomed global product manager heavy vehicle charging ABB E-Mobility Mathijs Vaessen and global emerging market lead ABB E-Mobility Wim Elshout to the Penrith depot.
Kotevich says ABB has lived up to its reputation as a leader in electric bus technology by helping to overcome the challenges of introducing new infrastructure into an already limited space.
“One of the main issues with bus depots in Sydney is that space is limited and comes at a premium. We identified early on in the fleet electrification project that planning the infrastructure within existing depot spaces would be key and ABB has been great in working with us to custom engineer solutions to get around this issue,” Kotevich says.
“‘Our Penrith depot is home to 111 buses, so investing now in a transformer and new charging systems capable of simultaneously fast charging our existing zero emission buses and with scope to grow to charge a fleet of that size, sets us up for a seamless whole fleet zero emissions transition in coming years.
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“Our Penrith depot is less than 10 years old and was designed to accommodate future growth and technological advancement well into the future.”
ABB EV charging infrastructure product marketing manager Steve Amor says that Busways was one of the first bus operators to show initiative in adopting charging technology for zero emissions buses.
“Busways has partnered with us to research and plan well ahead for the future with its approach to charging technology here at Penrith. It is good to be working with an organisation that is so forward thinking,” Amor says.
The new chargers at Penrith are compatible with any future electric buses that will be added. Busways is now planning the charging solution to support the introduction of electric buses in Willoughby Depot for zero emissions bus services in the North Shore and West contract region.
ABB has 120 years of experience in the electric business and has been involved with electric bus chargers since 2010. The company introduced one of the first electric bus chargers in Europe in 2015 and is providing the bus chargers for 1,000 electric buses used in Qatar for the World Cup.
Busways is the largest 100 per cent Australian-owned bus operator and this year celebrates 80 years delivering bus passenger services for the Australian community. Recently awarded the 2022 BusNSW Environment and Innovation Award, today Busways has 2,600 employees and 1,300 buses delivering 26 million passenger journeys a year.